Big science at the smallest scale
GW experimental physicists are pioneering big science at the smallest scale. With cutting-edge tech and state-of-the-art systems, faculty and students are on the frontlines of a subatomic revolution.
Physics Department News
GW Recognizes Top Scholars at 2025 Academic Honors Ceremony
President Granberg and Provost Bracey congratulated the students who earned Outstanding Academic Achievement Awards, as well as nine Distinguished Scholars. Quinn Stefan, Physics major, was one of...
CCAS Showcase Spotlights Student Research: 20 physics projects were presented
More than 200 undergraduate and graduate students across disciplines displayed their scholarly work at the third annual CCAS Research Showcase.
Study: Presidential Elections Bring Online Hate Communities Together
Neil Johnson, Professor of Physics, co-authored the study "How U.S. Presidential elections strengthen global hate networks"
GW Physics Professor Received Lifetime Achievement Award
Professor of Physics Chryssa Kouveliotou, a pioneer in the field of astrophysics, is the recipient of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific’s (ASP) most prestigious award, the Catherine Wolfe Bruce...
A Century of Discovery: Corcoran Hall Marks 100 Years of Science Milestones
Corcoran Hall, a historic science hub, marks its centennial. Home to the Big Bang theory and modern breakthroughs, it also primarily houses the Physics Department.
Physics’ Kouveliotou Earns Distinguished Scientist Honors
A leader in high-energy astrophysics, Kouveliotou received the Distinguished Scientist Award from the Southeastern Universities Research Association.
Ready to Launch: A GW Student’s NASA Mission
PhD student Nick Kirschner’s research journey took him from NASA labs to the New Mexico desert—part of an agreement that is propelling GW astrophysics to new heights.
Sylvain Guiriec Asked to Speak at International Science Conference
Sylvain Guiriec, professor and undergraduate advisor, was invited by the Office for Science and Technology of the Embassy of France to present research on gamma-ray bursts to the France Science...
GW Hailed as a Top Fulbright Producer for 2023–24
GW has been recognized as a top producer of Fulbright scholars and students for 2023–24, including Physics Professor Gerald Feldman (Norway).
Malicious AI Activity Likely to Escalate into Daily Occurrence in 2024
Physics professor Neil Johnson's groundbreaking analysis exposes AI misuse by bad actors as over 50 nations, including the U.S., prepare for elections.
CCAS Biophysics Entrepreneur Shines in International Spotlight
Biophysics alumna Nathalya Ramirez, BS ’19, CEO of a healthcare start-up, was among the finalists at the World Business Angel Investment Forum in South Africa.
GW Hosts Priority-Setting Event for the Future of U.S. Nuclear Science
The next 10 years of nuclear physics research could see major discoveries, experts said at a livestreamed debrief.
New ‘Shockwave’ Science Tracks Online Hate Speech
Led by physics professor Neil Johnson, a research team created a formula that demonstrates how, why and when hate speech spreads throughout social media.
What Makes a Gamma-Ray Burst the ‘Brightest of All Time?’
Doctoral physics student Brendan O’Connor is the lead author of a new study on the massive cosmic explosion detected last October.
Astrophysics Student Impacts Earth and Sky
Graduate student Sarah Chastain searches space for cosmic transients—a project that is also opening the field to a diverse new generation of students and schola
Andrei Alexandru was named a Fellow of the American Physical Society
Andrei Alexandru was named a Fellow of the American Physical Society
Study: Online Battle Lost Early in COVID Crisis
A team led by Physics’ Neil Johnson revealed mainstream Facebook communities were already intertwined with anti-science groups before COVID-19 vaccines arrived.
In a conversation with CCAS Dean Paul Wahlbeck, Physics Professor Alexander van der Horst discusses gamma-ray bursts and more.
GW Students Present Research at the 19th American Astronomical Society HEAD Meeting
In March 2022, eight GW astrophysics graduate students and one undergraduate student traveled to the astrophysics conference to present their exciting research.
Fantastic Voyage: Physics Student Peers into Protons
Junior Gabriel Grauvogel is bringing his CCAS Luther Rice Fellowship research to an international effort to unravel the puzzling proton.
Online Parenting Communities Pulled Closer to Extreme Groups
Previous research has shown that social media feeds the spread of misinformation. But exactly how that occurs has been unclear.
NASA Pact Rockets Astrophysics Impact
The GW Astrophysics Group within the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences (CCAS) is expanding its reach into space exploration with a new agreement with the...
Excited states of strongly interacting matter predicted from first principles
What is the origin of matter? What kind of matter is there and what are its properties? These questions are simple but difficult to answer, and they are at the center of nuclear physics, both for...
Malicious Content Exploits Path Ways between Online Platforms
A new study led by GW researchers demonstrates how harmful content spreads through the online “hate multiverse” across popular platforms.
GW Physics Professor Awarded Shaw Prize in Astronomy
Chryssa Kouveliotou received international recognition for her contributions to the understanding of magnetars, a class of highly magnetized neutron stars.
NASA Missions Unmask Magnetar Eruptions in Nearby Galaxies
A team of GW magnetar experts was part of the international collaboration that analyzed data from space- and ground-based observatories.
Astrophysics graduate students (Steven Chen, Brendan O'Connor, Hui Yang) gave talks at the Chandra Frontiers in Time-Domain Science 2020.
Physics Collaboration Seeks to Shed Light on Particle Formation
GW researchers from the Physics Department are leading an international collaboration to expand capabilities at a U.S. Department of Energy national accelerator laboratory and provide...
Cross-Disciplinary Research to Quantify Evolution, Spread of Misinformation
Physics professor Neil Johnson and his collaborator Yonatan Lupu have been awarded a three-year, $1.86 million grant from the Department of Defense to study how...
Getting Creative: Student Research in the Virtual Learning Environment
For physics major Ujwal Kumar, the COVID pandemic turned everything upside down — including his astrophysics research on gamma ray bursts. But thanks in part to CCAS' STEM Summer...
Novel Mapping Model Tracks How Hate Spreads and Adapts Online
A team of GW researchers led by Neil Johnson is studying hate on social media. The latest findings outline the challenges to dismantling online hate groups worldwide.
Student Project Leads to International Collaborations
Jack Hirschman was awarded a GW Distinguished Scholar award for his progress on field programmable gate arrays.
Student Innovation Shines at Research Days 2019
Eric Boulter, a junior majoring in astrophysics and music, is using virtual reality technology to bring the solar system to life. Wearing a headset, users can stand among the stars and study how...
Not Just Another Science Class
Members of the GW chapter of the Society of Physics Students share their passion for learning in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workshops with local children.
Supernovae Shine Light on Gamma-ray Bursts
New deep space observations by Professor of Astrophysics Chryssa Kouveliotou and an international team of scientists provided insights into Gamma-ray bursts and their...
Simpler Parts Make for a More Efficient System
Professor Neil Johnson explored decentralized systems in a new paper. His research has the potential to inform everything from how to effectively structure a company to how...
Physics, Professionally Speaking
Assistant Professor of Astrophysics Alexander van der Horst reveals a hard truth to physics majors in his classes: Their physics futures, he tells them, may not go as...
Using Physics to Study Extremism
Professor Neil Johnson’s background in “many-body” physics provides the framework or his research on how extremist groups form online.
Nuclear Physicist Urges Students to Find Champions
Argonne National Laboratory’s Kawtar Hafidi delivered the keynote at the 2018 GW Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics. Hafidi discussed her path to leading major research and the...
Astrophysicists Identify 'Monumental' Kilonova Blast
Four Department of Physics astrophysicists are part of a group of scientists who confirmed the first observation of a kilonova — two neutron stars merging in an explosive event 1,000 times...
A riddle at the heart of the atom is confounding scientists and suggesting a new model of physics.
Scholarship Program to Boost STEM Teachers
Thanks to a new grant, GW students majoring in physics and other STEM fields can apply to receive two years of tuition in exchange for teaching after graduation in a high-need school district.
GW Researchers Help Build Advanced Astronomical Instrument
OCTOCAM will allow astronomers to study the visible and near-infrared light from astronomical objects in more detail than ever before possible. The completed instrument will be used at the Gemini...
Not all pulsars rocketing through space are alike. Using NASA images, PhD candidate Noel Klingler and a team of other researchers are discovering why some stars shine with different lights.
Steve Howell Receives 2014 Craig Futterman Prize
April 2014. Steve Howell received the Craig Futterman Prize for Outstanding Biophysics Graduate Student. Congratulations Steve!
In 2003, two bronze plaques were mounted at the entrance of the chemistry and physics building, Corcoran Hall. The plaques were commissioned by then GW President Stephen Trachtenberg to show more...
Physics Students Expand Collaborations in China
Prof. Zeng’s group (Prof. Zeng, Dr. Yunjie Zhao and Chenghang Du) visited the Prof. Xiao’s Lab (Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan) and Prof. Wang’ Lab (Nanjing University,...
Professor Guanyu Wang is Starting a New Laboratory
Professor Guanyu Wang is starting a new laboratory in September 2013 with both biological experiments and high performance computation as integral components (3/2013).
Tribute to Professor Herman Hedberg Hobbs
Professor Hobbs is retiring this year to become Emeritus Professor of Physics. His presence is well known to students, faculty, and the administration by his intellectual strength, integrity, wisdom...